Fig Challah for New Year's Day

There is nothing better than sleeping in after a late night celebration on New Year's Eve; except maybe waking up to this Fig Challah loaf.

My daughter Rachel introduced me to this beautiful bread.  It's not difficult to make but it looks spectacular. She makes homemade fig spread but I just bought a jar of Trader Joe's Fig Spread.  Any fig jam would work.  Rachel imagines chocolate chunks would be great rolled in the ropes; like chocolate croissant.  We'll be trying that version next.  This bread would also be lovely with cranberries, dried cherries, or even a bit of cinnamon sugar rolled in the middle of the ropes.

Let your imagination run wild.
Just bake a loaf.
Add a cup of hot chocolate and you're family has breakfast.  Or take a loaf to a friend.

Fig Challah

Bread

2 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast

¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon of honey

2/3 cup of warm water

1/3 cup of oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons of kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons of table salt

4 cups of all-purpose flour

Spread:

Trader Joe’s Fig Spread or homemade

Spears of chocolate

Fruit Curd

Jam

Egg wash

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon or water or heavy cream

Mix the yeast and 1 teaspoon of honey into the warm water.  Let bloom on the counter.

In a large bowl, measure the oil and eggs, and pour proofed yeast into the bowl.  Mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until blended and then add the flour and salt.

Change to a dough hook and knead the bread for 5-8 minutes.  Dough should just pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough into an oiled bowl to rise.  Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let set in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Flour a board.  Cut the dough in half and roll half into a large rectangle.  Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten.

Roll again and spread your desired fruit onto the rectangle, leaving about 1-inch around the edges clean of spread.  Roll up lengthwise like a jelly roll.  Pinch the seams and let it rest again for about 5 minutes.

Now make a “snake-like” rope about 3 feet long.  Do this gently so as not to “tear” the rope and leak the spread out of it.  Cut the rope in half.  Set both ropes aside and repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

You will have 4 pieces of dough.  Stretch them all about equal lengths and make a square, alternating over and under with the four pieces (think a tic-tac-toe board) with the legs extending on all 4 sides of the square.

Snug the middle up and braid the outer “legs” over and under each other to form a braid.  Tuck all right side ropes over the left side and then tuck the left ropes over the right.  Tuck the ends under and set the loaf on a piece of parchment paper.  Repeat with the second loaf.

Pick up the parchment and place the loaves on a sheet tray and brush them with the egg wash if desired.  Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap, put in a warm place and let loaves raise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  At the 45-minute mark, heat the oven to 375º F.

Place the sheet tray in the middle of the pre-heated oven and bake until the interior temperature of the loaves read 195º F. on an instant read thermometer. 

Let the loaves cool on a wire rack and glaze if desired.

Tips:

·        Water should be about 103º F.  Hotter water will kill the yeast; cooler water will add longer raise times to the dough.

·        Dough should be slightly sticky.  Too much flour will make the loaf tough.

·        Let the dough rest if the ropes spring back and try again in a few minutes.

·        If the loaves start to brown too much before the interior is cooked, cover them with a piece of aluminum foil and continue to bake.